International Travel Changes Everything... October 20, 2004

Joni went on a head-clearing trip to Ireland with her Mom in October of 2004 for 7 days. But before Joni travels, she gets a little uptight about things potentially going wrong, and so she feels the need to tell Stephen some things that had been rattling around her head, just in case she never comes back... So, basically, Joni wrote Stephen a dispatch just before leaving for the airport whining about geography, and extolling the virtues of Stephen, and explaining how she's all mixed up, and having feelings for him, despite the distance which makes a relationship between them impossible (I know, hindsight, you know?)


And so, while in an internet cafe in the town of Swords, Ireland, Joni reads the following email from Stephen, and spends the next 5 days driving across Ireland with the most goofy grin on her face, just amazed that any guy in the world, much less this guy, would put this much thought into a dream date with her!


"Hey CajunCoulter,

Arrrgh, irritation!! I didn’t expect you to still be on your email, so I was taking some time to reply to your last 2 emails. If I’d known you’d be looking at it at 5:30AM, I’d have made sure you got a reply – so much I wanted to put in! (that said, I’ve now only left myself 20 minutes to reply in. Hmm, let’s see how far I can get).

Anyway, first up, thank you SO SO SO SO SO much for saying all those nice things about me in your recent emails!!!!!!! I was truly stoked when I read that! And indeed, grrr at geography (and the Pacific Ocean in particular). I was doing much the same grousing as you: Why the hell did you have to be on another bloody continent??? You’re the sort of girl I’ve wished I could meet here (although, me being me, the odds are we’d never have even exchanged "hello"s if you’d actually been here – see why I love the Internet?). I can picture even now what would have happened had you been here – exactly where we could have gone for a beer (the Colonial Hotel – quiet, great atmosphere), and where we could have gone afterwards (Swanston Walk Bar – best lamb kebabs in Melbourne), and where we could have gone after that (Crown Promenade, to watch the LPG flares), followed by rum and coffee at the Charles Dickens Tavern. Sigh – why did you have to be all the way over there?? You’re exactly what I would have sought: intelligent, practical, professional, love to see how things are built, you and I know what each other are talking about, love kids, and are indeed good and conservative! Snarl at geography!

And (you’re not going to believe this), I’m now out of time. Sorry for this email being so short. I guess the above was one of the things I particularly wanted to say – without being pompous about it, you seemed to me to be going out on a bit of a limb in your other email didn’t seem fair for me to be hedging. Forgive me if I’ve been more outspoken than is welcome – I can put a sock in it if desired.

OK, more tomorrow – probably you’ll come back to a bundle of moderate length emails!
AussiePatriot"